**“El Mayo” Detained in Harsher Conditions Than Guantánamo: An Infernal Experience**
Ismael Mario Zambada García, known as “El Mayo,” a 76-year-old co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, has been detained under extremely strict conditions in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in New York. Zambada, registered under the number 27102-511 by the United States Bureau of Prisons, faces 17 charges including drug trafficking, firearms offenses, and money laundering.
On September 13, 2024, Zambada appeared before Judge James R. Cho in the Federal Court of the Eastern District of New York. The court session marked his first appearance since his transfer to the MCC, where he is being held in solitary confinement in the high-security 10 South wing, a section notorious for housing dangerous criminals including mafia bosses, terrorists, and notorious financial fraudsters.
Reports from various American media outlets, including The New York Times, describe the MCC as being even more severe than the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. A memoir by Uzair Paracha, who supported Al-Qaeda and was also held at MCC, describes the conditions as harsher than those at Guantanamo, with inmates subjected to constant illumination and severe isolation.
The New York Times detailed that prisoners in the maximum-security cells frequently complained of the mental strain caused by isolation and the continuous surveillance, even describing visual deterioration due to the harsh conditions. The facility, open since 1975 and housing about 795 inmates, implements some of the most stringent security measures in the country.
David Patton, the first attorney assigned to “El Chapo” Guzmán, described the segregated units as “horrifying and inhuman,” a sentiment echoed by other inmates who previously experienced Guantanamo.
Further illustrating the harsh realities of MCC, the New York Daily News reported on Ahmed Ghailani, a former Guantanamo detainee, who claimed that the Cuban prison was more relaxed compared to the brutal isolation of MCC. Despite greater fairness in the US civil legal processes, Ghailani lamented the lack of any recreational opportunities and the inability to interact with other prisoners.
The prison’s harsh conditions are underscored by a report from The Intercept, documenting Mahdi Hashi’s experience of living in a tiny, relentlessly surveilled cell, exacerbated by seasonal temperature extremes.
### Legal Implications for “El Mayo”
Journalist Armando Guzmán revealed that Zambada could face the death penalty under the Kingpin Statutes. These laws apply to individuals involved in ongoing criminal enterprises responsible for intentional murders or actions leading to deaths. Unlike “El Chapo” Guzmán, Zambada was not extradited, making it possible for the US Department of Justice to seek capital punishment.
According to Guzmán, Zambada’s severe charges preclude any possibility of parole or suspended sentences. Although Zambada might negotiate for witness protection status, the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act limits prosecutorial leniency.
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